THE COLLEGES : Chapman Is Edged by Bakersfield : Panthers Drop Into Fifth-Place Tie With Dominguez Hills, 66-64

Early on, there were signs Thursday night--albeit subtle ones--that Chapman College might lose, and in doing so, slip back another step in the race for the final playoff spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.

For example:

--The Panthers, normally a conservative, disciplined team on offense, turned the ball over in a most unusual way in the first half. With 8:37 remaining, the Panthers failed to get off a shot as the 45-second clock elapsed.

--Chapman’s leading scorer, Kelly Huston, had a quiet first half with just four points. He finished with 11 points, a season low.

Neither of the two above examples ended up costing the Panthers greatly, but Chapman’s 66-64 loss to Cal State Bakersfield at Hutton Sports Center in Orange really did come down to the little things.

Bakersfield’s victory, coupled with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s loss, moves the Roadrunners into a first-place tie in the CCAA with San Luis Obispo at 7-2. Meanwhile, Chapman (13-9 overall, 4-5 in conference) dropped into a fifth-place tie with Cal State Dominguez Hills with five games remaining. Only the top four teams advance to the CCAA playoffs.

Chapman Coach Kevin Wilson, however, said his team’s postgame discussions aren’t centered on making the playoffs.

“There is no game where we are saying, ‘We’ve got to win this game or that game,’ ” Wilson said. “We’re just trying to get better. Some of our young guys are looking toward next year, but we’re still trying to get better this year. We’re still in this thing, although we’ve made it harder for ourselves.”

Essentially, Bakersfield secured the victory from the free-throw line, finally pulling away from what had been a close game. With 1:09 remaining, and Bakersfield ahead by one point, guard Danny Martin made two free throws, giving the Roadrunners a 62-59 lead. Huston then responded with two free throws to bring Chapman within one again.

Bakersfield’s Ray Burris followed by making two more free throws, expanding the lead to three points with 42 seconds remaining. Chapman took the ball downcourt, and Huston got the ball inside, but his shot was blocked by Neil Stephans.

On Bakersfield’s next possession, the Panthers fouled Burris again. But Burris, who was 7 of 10 from the free-throw line, made both.

Burris led Bakersfield in scoring with 17 points, Troy Price had 16 and Martin added 13. For Chapman, Dave Roth had 17 and Russ Ortega scored 13.